220313 Sentinel, Thank You

My purpose today is to thank a lot of people for what they have done for me.
The picture below is Joyce and our daughter Annie long ago. I like it because they are both smiling and enjoying their love for each other.

There is a song "Thank you" that says a lot about life and the song has moved me to write this post this morning. The link is at the end of this post.

Thank you readers that make my writing worthwhile and encourage me to keep going on with my writing. I thank our God in heaven for the life He has given me. I am grateful for the family He has given me and the three girls in my lifetime, Joyce, Annie and Hailey, My son-in-law Rhett, My nephew Patrick, his love Kristin, my parents, my grandfather and Joyce’s parents and grandmother. Those are the people who had and have a tremendous influence in my life. Not only have they helped and shaped my life, but given me their love.

I’m thankful for my neighbors Pete, Pascale, Troy who have given me joy and peace in my neighborhood. I thank the United States Navy for life lessons I found there and the navy chiefs who guided my service time. The navy schools taught me a trade that not only supported my success in the service, but those skills learned there supported my family through my life until I retired. The events I experienced during my navy time gave me a lot to write about, sea stories to swap with other veterans and to share with my readers. I thank the sailors I served with for their assistance in times I needed friends and people who helped me during my service time. My first navy reenlistment bonus gave Joyce and I a nest egg that we used many times in our lives together.

Joyce’s mother (grandma Mickey) taught me so many things and gave me joy and a love for her that exists to this day. She was what I call an earth mother ( a woman that everyone looked up to and requested her counsel on life in every problem.) That trait was passed on to Joyce (whom even strangers approached and sought her guidance). That in turn was passed on to our daughter Annie, (a woman people also ask for guidance and share their deepest secrets with.)

I am grateful for my grandfather that taught me more and gave me more of his time than my father ever did. Grandpa shaped my early life more than anyone. As I end this post I want to thank my mother who loved me and always encouraged me to do well in life and consoled me when I failed to accomplish what I set out to do.
My God in heaven has picked me up at times when I fell and could not get up on my own. I am a sinner and yet I know He loves me as much as he loves anyone else. Without Him, I would have been in such a deep depression after Joyce died I may have never recovered. Song "Thank You"